The New World
by RZG
Summary: One-Shot. Just when they thought they were going home, Sora and Riku end up face to face with the most eccentric pirate crew they have ever met. Puzzled by this twist of fate, both heros of light and pirates learn about each other, while figuring out just what exactly is it that this particular world needs from them.


**Author's Note:**

Plot bunny hit me and wouldn't leave me alone, so here. :D  
The idea started from wanting to do some character interactions with both parties, so it didn't really have a plotline when I started, but since I can't just throw them into the circumstances without a reason, this is what came out at the end. Hope it's not too weak an argument.

Another quick note: I like to make things as close to cannon as possible so let's place this story right after beating Xemnas in KH II and after Fishman Island in One Piece; for continuity's sake.

 **Warning:** Mild coarse language. Courtesy of Sanji's and Chopper's potty mouths.

 **Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts is copyrighted property of Square Enix and Disney. One Piece is copyrighted property of Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

 **The New World**

The last thing he remembered, he was beside his friend Riku, walking towards the bright door that was supposed to be their way home. Next thing he knew, he was breaking a salty surface of water, taking a breath with a deep gasp. He looked around, finding his best friend still beside him, who, judging by his expression, was as disoriented and confused as he was.

"Where are we?" He finally asked.

There was not a single piece of land in their proximity. Just the blue ocean as far as the eyes could see… Except...

"Oi! Are you alive?" Hearing the voice in the distance, they both turned around and found a flashy pirate ship approaching them.

"Wow..." Sora couldn't help being amazed. Even if this was not the first pirate ship he had ever seen, it was still awesome. And this one in particular looked very… lively, for the lack of other words.

"Whaaa! Man overboard!" a higher pitched voice suddenly screamed in panic.

"Chopper, wait!"

A splash of water was heard followed soon after by a panic yell, a curse, and a second splash.

Just a few minutes later, they were both sitting on a grassy deck surrounded by the most colorful pirate crew they had encounter through their travels.

Behind said crew, a blond man in a suit was looking reproachfully at a small fur animal that seem to be out of it; both were soaking wet, making it impossible for the man to light the cigarette in his mouth.

"Stop throwing yourself in, you shity reindeer," he was murmuring. "You know you can't swim…"

Then, a teen a few years older than them, stepped up and stood confidently in front of them with a strawhat on his head and a very impressive scar on his chest. He looked at them curiously before smiling brightly with a tint of excitement in his eyes.

"Hey, I'm Luffy. Who are you guys?"

Sora returned the smile with natural ease; it was not as big, but equally bright.

"I'm Sora and this is my friend Riku," He spoke. "Thanks for the save!"

Riku nodded his agreement.

"Shishishi!" Luffy just laughed good-naturedly.

With a loud exclamation, the little reindeer was back on his feet and running towards them. "Let me do a checkup!" he said with a serious expression.

"Chopper is our doctor. He'll make sure to fix you up, so don't worry!" Luffy explained as he watch said doctor do his job.

Too curious about the little guy, Sora let him prod him here and there checking for any injuries.

"Do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"

"Not really. I think I'm fine," Sora answered with a smile. "Thanks for worrying though."

"D-Don't think your thanks flatter me, you bastard~ " the little guy said with a singsong tone.

Sora dismissed the insult with a laugh as he found the little guy's dance funny. Riku on the other hand arched an eyebrow in confusion. His actions were a total opposite to what he had said.

"Yohohoho! Chopper sure looks happy!" exclaimed a very tall talking skeleton that caused Jack Skellington to come to mind.

He must have noticed the curious looks from the two teens, since he lift the hat he was wearing, and introduced himself. "Nice to meet you. My name is Brook, and I am the musician of this crew."

"Cool!" Sora's expression was so bright, Riku could have swear he saw stars on his eyes.

This was the cue for the rest of the crew to introduce themselves. It was a small crew, Riku noticed, but strangely fitting. By the end of all the introductions, the little reindeer was already sending worried glances towards Riku's abdomen and Sora's slight burns. Riku supposed the last potion he had was not enough to heal all the lasting bruises on his friend.

"So, what's the verdict, doctor?" the blond man who had rudely introduced himself as Sanji spoke up.

"They are not presenting any serious injury that requires immediate attention," Chopper nodded. "Though they do show signs of exhaustion and a few bruises that I would like to take a better look at…"

"You kids must be SUUUPER strong getting away with nothing but scratches after such a long fall," the shipwright commented; he was a really big guy with sunglasses and mechanical limbs.

"Fall?" Riku asked in confusion.

"Yeah, you guy came falling from the sky at high speed," the pretty navigator explained. "It really surprised me..."

Sora and Riku shared a looked, thinking the same thing… they have yet again ended up in a new world.

"At that speed, water is like concrete, so a normal person would have broken quite a few bones, if not all of them."

"Robin! Stop with the morbid comments!" the sniper; a guy with a characteristically long nose complained with obvious discomfort at the mental image. Robin just smiled enigmatically.

"Could it be you come from a sky island?" Nami asked almost as an afterthought.

Both teens stare at her in confusion at the question, before Zoro spoke next.

"Maybe they are aliens," he said with a yawned.

"Huh?" Well, THAT was a way to put it, thought Sora.

"Aliens!?" it was interesting how the crew could be totally in synch with what they said and yet every voice carried a different emotion.

"Are we being invaded!?" Usopp, one of the few who sounded worried asked outloud.

"What?!" Chopper seemed to be about to cry.

"Um... Don't worry, we are... friendly aliens!" Sora tried to appease the little reindeer, causing Riku to facepalm behind him.

"Oh, really? What a relief!"

"So cool! Hey-hey! Can you poop?" Luffy asked like it was the most normal question in the world.

"Oi…" most of the crew murmured in exasperation.

Sora thought it hilarious, so he laughed with his arms crossed behind his head, and… "Well... Of course we-"

The back of a hand smacking his face stopped him from finishing the sentence. "Don't answer that."

And so Riku spared the fans from hearing the answer.

"Hey! You didn't have to hit me!" Sora whined childishly.

"Aliens or not, I really would like to check those injuries though," Chopper redirected the conversation back to his initial worry. "You could use a bit of ointment for those burns, Sora," he signaled first to the teen in question, who looked curiously at his arm as if he had just notices he had burn marks all over.

A flashback from when Xemnas had grabbed him by surprise, and shocked him with that weird sphere until Riku freed him of it, came to Sora's mind; most likely that attack being the cause.

"Also, Riku is sporting a nasty bruise in the abdomen area. It doesn't look at all like something caused by the long fall."

Riku just had to take one look at Sora's face to understand the guilt his friend was feeling. Seriously, he was like an opened book when it came to his emotions. He decided right now was as good a moment as any other to let him know it hadn't been his fault. But he was suddenly interrupted by a loud booming sound, followed by the ship's violent movements caused by newly created aggressive waves.

"It looks like there's a Marine ship approaching," Zoro commented casually with his attention towards the left side of the ship.

"Really?!" There was excitement in Luffy's voice, something both travelers found strange.

"Oi, Luffy! What are you getting so happy for?!" exclaimed his long-nosed friend. "We need to escape before they reach us!"

"I second that!" exclaimed the navigator.

"Eeeeh? Why?" Luffy whined.

"Whatever you do, don't take long, lunch will be ready shortly," commented Sanji with disinterest as he disappeared into the kitchen.

"Yosh! Let's finish this fast!" Luffy's voice was now full with determination, but his watering mouth betrayed where his focus really was.

"Stop thinking about food at a time like this!" screamed both Nami and Usopp at the same time.

"Are we… going to be okay?" Riku asked more to himself with a perplexed expression.

Sora just laughed. "Should we help?"

Chopper made a panicked expression showing his disagreement to that idea.

"Don't worry, they'll take care of it," Robin interrupted as she directed her sight towards her captain and his unofficial first mate.

"Three minutes," Zoro murmured, unsheathing his swords.

Riku and Sora stood where they were, watching with curious interest. Most of the rest of the crew scrambled away to a safe distance while yelling cheers to their line of defense.

When the enemy's ship was close enough, Luffy, stretched one of his arms, reaching for the railing of his own ship, and grabbed the swordsman by the shirt with the other.

"Let's go, Zoro!"

"Wha-?! Wait! I can get there on my ow- Ghahaaa!"

And off they were, propelled forward towards the marines.

The action startled both world travelers, shocked by the impossible ability displayed.

"Wow!" Sora exclaimed in child-like wonderment.

Robin took it upon herself to explain. "Our captain ate a devil fruit, so as you can see, he has gained the ability to stretch his body as if it was rubber."

Sora and Riku shared yet another confused look in regards to the recent explanation, before looking back at the woman with curious expressions.

"Devil… Fruit?" Sora voiced.

Robin looked slightly surprised. It was normal for people living out of the Grand Line to not be aware of the fruits' actual existence, but she found it odd to find people within the New World who hadn't even heard about them.

Yells from the Marine ship stopped their conversation, and soon, there was smoke coming out from it as it started sinking. It took less than three minutes…

"Oh… we couldn't even see what happened…" Sora sounded disappointed.

With another yell of surprise from Zoro, they were alerted of the duo's return, courtesy of Luffy's rocket technic. This gave them time to move out of the way before the two came crashing on deck with enough force to shake the ship.

"One… day… will definitely… kill you…."

Luffy just dismissed the swordsman's words with a hearty laugh. "Sorry, sorry."

"Lunch is ready!" A voice from on top called to them, and out of an open door came the chef.

"Whoo! Meat! Meat! Meat!" Luffy was the first to dash away.

"You better hurry before our Captain swallows the whole table up," Usopp advised as he ran forward along the rest of the crew.

Suddenly realizing how hungry they truly where, Sora and Riku followed without much hesitation.

By the time they reached the kitchen, everyone was already on their places, and Luffy was on what looked like his fifth serve. Maybe Usopp's warning wasn't as exaggerated as they first thought…

Taking seat, Sanji placed their share of food, and the conversation continued.

"So, what were you guys doing before you fell from the sky?" the sniper asked curiously.

"We were… fighting someone," Sora answered truthfully if not a bit sheepish.

"So am I right to assume that's the real reason of why you are injured?" Robin reasoned.

"What?! That's what this is?!" the doctor was suddenly beside Riku. They couldn't tell if Chopper was excited to figure it out or just extremely worried.

"H-Hey!" Riku protested the sudden invasion of privacy as he tried to slide his shirt back down.

"Where you hit with some sort of weapon? Is that why your skin looks burned?"

"Yeah, I let my guard down…" Riku explained matter-of-factly.

"Sorry, it was my fault," Sora voiced looking down. "I let my guard down first, so you ended up hurt while protecting me."

"Sora, listen," Riku started. It was now or never. "This is no one else's fault but my own. Because one, we were both tired..."

"But-"

Riku raised a palm towards his friend to silence him. "And two, I was the one who decided to get in the way, wasn't I? So stop robbing me credit here."

Sora opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it back when he had no comeback, and just look at his friend in mild confusion.

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me," Riku continued crossing his arms in a sign of indignation, and closed his eyes with a frown. "There I was receiving a blow and looking all cool about protecting you, and now you're trying to steal that credit by saying it was all you. Stop pretending I didn't do a thing."

"Huh? I wasn't trying to steal anything! It's just… um… sorry?"

"Yes, you better be! Because I'm not letting you have it."

With that last statement, Riku looked at his friend to find him scratching his head in puzzlement. Even if Sora didn't quite get it, he looked considerably less troubled.

What he didn't notice, was how Luffy had been paying attention to their discussion and seemed to have perc up in some kind of recognition. His blank poker face was soon altered by widening eyes during the middle of their conversation, and by the end of it, he was sporting a bright smile as if a sudden realization had lifted a big burden off his now tense-free shoulders.

Only Robin and Zoro, who had been paying attention to their Captain, notice this change and smile in relief to see him less tense, even though they didn't know the whole story or reason behind it.

After lunch, the crew spread around the ship, occupied on their own chores, giving the two teens some space to talk alone. So now they were on deck, contently sitting on the railing in Sora's case, and standing by it pensively in Riku's.

"I don't get it…" the oldest was the one to start. "I thought the Door to Light was supposed to send us to our own world... So why are we here?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure..." Sora answered. "But it must be important."

"What do you mean?" Riku asked with curiosity.

"I felt... Like this world was calling us." He explained; then nodded. "So maybe it needs our help."

"..." Riku pondered the thought knowing his friend had some sort of sixth sense when it came to things like this. "I guess we'll figure out what it needs us for eventually then."

"Yeah!" Sora answered enthusiastically before sobering up with a smile that spelled melancholy if nothing else. "One more adventure before we can go back home…"

Riku only answer was to close his eyes with a slight nod as both friends faced the horizon.

Unbeknown to them, Robin had been using her powers to listen in into their conversation.

"World travelers? What an interesting concept" she murmured with an amused smile adorning her lips.

"Huh? Did you say something, Robin?" Nami looked up from her map.

Robin shook her head. "I was just thinking out loud."

"Riku! Why did you run off like that?" Chopper suddenly called as he went down on deck. "I told you we needed to treat that wound!"

Riku looked perplexed by this. Chopper had been adamant in his resolution to treat him after lunch, but then the skeleton had started playing a song, and he saw the little reindeer having so much fun, he didn't see the harm in letting him be.

"Ne, ne! Franky said he and Usopp are almost done with the new stuff they were adding to his fighting robot!" Luffy bounced next to them right out of nowhere. "He promised we could try it when it's finished! Wanna come?"

"A robot?!" Sora jumped off the railing and into the grass, facing him fully.

"So cool!" Chopper exclaimed in amazement, before switching gears in the blink of an eye and scowling angrily. "Luffy! Stop distracting the conversation! This is important!"

Not wanting to upset the little doctor any more than he already was, Riku suggested Sora and Luffy to go ahead, promising to catch up once Chopper was done patching him up.

"Awesome! Let's go, Spiky-head!" Luffy exclaimed while grabbing Sora by the wrist and pulling him along below deck.

"Spik-?"

Riku barely manage to hear Sora's confused exclamation towards the nickname before they disappeared out of sight.

"I was hoping to treat Sora's wounds aswell…" Chopper said dejectedly. "They look painful too."

"Don't worry, if he is not complaining, it means he barely even know he has them," Riku reassured him. "Besides, we can always call him back after you take a look at mine."

"Alright," Chopper nodded looking happy with the resolution. "Let's go to my office."

"Lead the way," Riku nodded.

.:oOo:.

Meanwhile, halfway to Franky's working area, the eager pair of teens ended up distracted by their own exchange of adventure stories, stopping right in the middle of the hall below deck.

"Does that mean you're a hero?!" Luffy asked; eyes sparkling.

"I guess I am," Sora said as he finished retelling his adventures at the coliseum. "Huh…. it never really sank in until now. I was just too busy trying to find my friends."

Luffy paused half through his excitement as he heard that last part.

"Your friends?" he tilted his head in confusion.

"Yeah…" Sora's enthusiasm diminished a little as he turned a bit more serious. "Something… dark attacked our home island. And Riku, Kairi, and I ended up separated and send to other… places far away from each other."

Luffy nodded in understanding, remembering how he and his crew had gone through something similar.

"When I woke up, I was alone and totally lost," Sora continued. "But then I met Donald and Goofy, who were searching for someone they lost, too. So we helped each other and became friends. That's how I ended up traveling to a lot of different places."

"Did you find them both?" Luffy asked eagerly.

"Yeah!" Sora smiled. "Though… we kinda got separated from Kairi again…" he said sheepishly.

"Why?"

"We were going home, but the guy we had been fighting attacked us so suddenly, we had to stay behind and finish the battle," Sora explained. "She must be back home by now, waiting for us. So I'm sure we'll meet again soon."

"So you'll have to go?" Now Luffy looked disappointed.

Sora caught on the mood. "Yeah..."

"That's too soon, we just became friends," Luffy complained, sending a pout his way.

Feeling like he had to try and reassured him, Sora prepared to make his best Leon impression yet. " _'We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other.'_ "

Luffy's mood went up immediately, but not for the expected reasons. "Whoohoo! That was an imitation wasn't it!" he laughed and clapped enthusiastically. "I don't know who that is, but that was awesome!"

Sora laughed at the praise, before continuing. "That's something one of my friends told me once. It means that, even if we have friends far away and there is no certainty that we'll ever meet again, as long as we remember them, they will be with us," he then placed a hand on his chest. "Right here."

Luffy nodded at the explanation with seriousness. "So, it's a mystery friendship," he concluded.

"Pfft haha, I guess you could say that," Sora agreed as they went back on their way.

"Do you know any other imitations?"

"Hum… I think I could try a few..."

"Oh! Me first! Me first!" Luffy jumped excitedly as he stretched his nose and somehow changed the shape of his eyes. " _'People call me Captain Brave, because I'm the bravest man that has ever navigate this waters! Gyahaha!'_ "

"Is that supposed to be Usopp?" Sora asked in between laughs.

"Yeah! He's the liar of my crew!"

"I thought he was your sniper."

"Ah… yeah, he's good at that too."

Sora didn't question the order of importance Luffy gave to said abilities, and just continued along until they met with Franky and the object of their conversation, who were just giving the final touches to their newest collaboration.

"Usopp-bro, switch it on!"

"Roger that!"

"Is it supposed to make that noise?"

"Huh?"

.:oOo:.

While this was happening, Riku was sitting on the bead of the infirmary, with a new bandaged covering his abdomen.

"Don't take them off until I tell you," Chopper felt the need to say. "And if you feel any discomfort let me know."

"Will do, doc."

Chopper squealed at the title and started dancing in embarrassment. "Y-You don't m-make me happy, you bastard!~"

Riku shook his head in amusement. "Shall we go look for the others so you can treat Sora next?"

"Yeah! I'll take the ointment with me."

Just as they exited the infirmary, a big explosion resounded through the ship, causing a violent tremor that almost threw them off their feet.

"Kyaaaah!" Nami's yell was heard from above them.

"Are we under attack again?!" Chopper yelled in panic.

"That sounded like it came from below deck," Brook informed him from the grassy deck.

Robin giggled unfazed by the whole thing. "It looks like the modifications to Franky's robot didn't go as plan," she guessed. "Chopper, it might be a good idea to take your emergencies equipment with you. They might need your assistance."

"R-Right!"

"Moh! My map!" Nami whined in despair before growing angry. "Chopper, you'll need the whole kit after I'm done with them!"

Seeing the angry woman pulling out her clima-tack weapon and walking purposely inside, Chopper hurried back inside the infirmary and out.

"Nami, stop! They might not survive that in their current condition!" the panicked doctor followed after her.

Not really knowing what that was all about, Riku made to follow after them, but stopped when seeing Robin walking to him.

"Riku-kun, do you mind if we have a little chat?" she asked with a mysterious smile.

.:oOo:.

Sora struggled to see through all the smoke invading the windowless room. He could hear the others coughing; and laughing out loud in Luffy's case; so he was relieved to at least hear them alive.

"That was awesome, Franky!" Luffy praised him. "Is that part of your robot's new weapon?"

"That definitely wasn't supposed to happen, Luffy-bro," answered the cyborg scratching his head.

When the smoke dissipated enough, Sora blinked speechless at the state they were all in. Clothes, skin, and hair almost torched, and afros so pronounce even Brook would have been jealous.

Finally noticing Usopp lying down in one corner of the room, Sora ran to him and supported his hands on his knees to get a better look.

"Are you alright, Usopp?" he asked worriedly.

The sniper blinked away his shocked expression and stood up in a flash, causing Sora to backpedal a bit to give him space.

"Y-Yeah! Hahaha! Nothing as small as this can harm the brave Usopp!" he started bragging, even as his voice broke into a coughing fit. "I'm perfectly-"

"You idiots!" Nami's voice coming from the hall sounded more like a growl than nothing else.

"Whaa! Nami! That's a scary face!" Chopper voiced sounded next.

"…dead," Usopp murmured sliding back down to the floor. "Yeah… I got the 'can't-stand-up-unless-I-wanna-get-killed-by-Nami' sickness."

Sora sweat-dropped at the scene, not sure why Usopp was suddenly pretending to be dead, but realization hit him when he noticed the other two pirates tensing up considerably.

"You guys just messed up one of my maps…" came Nami's voice from the darkness.

Had that hallway always been that dark? Sora questioned. As she approached, they could finally see her murderous face, and all four of them paled three tones.

"I hope you are ready to pay for it…" the navigator continued as she raised her staff.

Huh? Dark clouds? Inside? Something was definitely wrong. Sora gulped.

.:oOo:.

Despite the multiple screams coming from below deck, accompanied with… were those thunders? Riku knew Sora could take care of himself, so he accepted Robin's request, and follow the archeologist to the library.

"Sorry to sidetrack you like this, but I was just really curious," Robin began as soon as they arrived. "Could you tell me a bit about the place you and Sora-kun come from?"

Riku understood there was something more than just mild curiosity about the question, so he answered with caution. But as the conversation went on, he learned, Robin had already figured out their actual situation, so he didn't see any reason to keep it to himself anymore.

"It is quite intriguing," Robin commented in thought. "That you ended up showing up here."

Riku nodded his agreement. "This world doesn't seem to be in any danger. So I can't really tell what it needs us for."

"Hmm… you said you've been fighting all this time," Robin said. "But, if you already took care of the threat, maybe this time it has nothing to do with fighting…"

Riku looked at her in puzzlement and waited for her to continue.

"I do believe it was not a coincidence that you ended up showing up right in front of our ship, and not anywhere else." Robin explained.

"So you think maybe what we have to do is related to you guys?"

"That's a likely reason, don't you agree?" Robin admitted. "What about this? I'll answer any questions you may have about us or our world in exchange for your knowledge regarding others. Sounds like a fair trade?"

Riku thought about it and accepted. After all, the more information he had about the world they had arrived at, the closer he would get to know their mission.

"Alright, what would you like to know first?" he asked.

Knowing they were going to be staying there a long time, Robin made sure to ask Sanji for tea and some snacks.

.:oOo:.

Just like a few other times in the past, Sora found himself in the Place of Awaking, wondering how he got there. Soon enough, his answer came in the shape of a taller person standing near him while admiring the surroundings.

"What an interesting place," the person voiced as he adjusted a big hat over his head.

Sora tilted his head in curiosity, unable to tell who this new intruder was, but before he could voice his question, the person seemed to finally notice him and turned around smiling.

"Oh! Good evening! My name is, Ace," he introduced himself with a deep polite bow. "Nice to meet you."

"Hi, the name's Sora," he answered back.

Ace nodded in acknowledgement before casually sitting down cross-legged. "I came here to thank you and your friend for helping my little brother," he explained.

"Your little brother?" Sora asked expecting the older young man to elaborate.

"You mean Luffy, right?" Riku's voice sounded from behind Sora before making his presence visually known by walking to them.

"Oh hey, Riku! You're here too!" Sora smiled. "How do you know it's Luffy?"

"I kinda figured it out by what I learned from Robin," Riku explained.

Ace smiled brighter, confirming Riku's suspicions.

"Hmm…" Sora looked thoughtful before turning to Ace. "What exactly did we do?"

"Well, I wasn't a very good big brother to him, seeing as how I ended up dying right in his arms…" Ace had the courtesy to look sheepish. "I broke a promise because of that…"

Sora looked startled. "What?! You died?!"

"It really sucks, but yeah. And since then, I think Lu's been feeling guilty about it," he explained. "You see? I was protecting him from a blow meant for him…"

Sora and Riku both stared at him understanding immediately were that was going.

"He felt it was his fault for not being strong enough, so I needed someone to drill it into his head that it was not the case at all."

Riku's eyes widen in comprehension. "You are the one who called us here, aren't you?"

"Yep," Ace admitted as he stood back up. "But it seems you ended up helping him more than I expected you to. So I thought on thanking you face to face," Ace bowed again. "Thank you for taking care of my little brother. I know he can be a handful."

Sora didn't understand what Ace was referring to, but smiled anyways. "Not at all! What are friends for?"

Riku nodded his answer.

Ace chuckled at this and turned his back to them. "Well… It's time for me to get going…"

"Would you like us to give him a message?" Riku offered.

"Nah, you already said everything I needed him to know," Ace declined with a salute. "He'll figure out the rest."

With that, Ace walked away from them, and disappeared in a flash of bright light that caused them to cover their faces.

When Sora blinked his eyes opened, he was now looking at the ceiling of the crow's nest. That's when he remembered how he had spent the rest of the day helping clean the mess done in Franky's weapon development room. By the time they were done it was already nightfall and Luffy kept complaining about how hungry he was, so after getting dinner everyone else had gone to sleep, leaving their captain to stand watch; Sora himself, deciding to accompany him, since he wasn't that sleepy at the time. He couldn't remember when he fell asleep, though.

He sat up with a yawn and stretched his arms. "Sorry, I fell asleep without knowing," he said finding Luffy seated by one of the windows.

The older teen turned around at the sound of his voice and dismissed the apology, telling him it wasn't a problem. "It happens to me all the time, too."

Sora stood up to join him by the window. "Nothing to report?"

"Nop," Luffy pouted childishly, sounding disappointed. "It's been really boring. Not even a seaking has shown up."

They sat there in silence for a few seconds before Luffy spoke up; his voice was the most subdued Sora had heard it since meeting the crew.

"What you said about remembering friends so they stay with you," he began. "Does it include people that are not… alive anymore?"

Sora was taken aback by the question, but was fast to catch up, understanding that Luffy might have been referring to Ace. He smiled kindly and nodded confidently.

"No doubt about that," he affirmed. "I think… it specially applies to them."

Luffy smiled and laughed heartedly, satisfied with the answer. "That's awesome. That means… my brothers never really left."

Sora was about to voice his agreement, when it happened…

A bright light coming from outside the ship illuminated the surrounding area, showing a big keyhole in its center.

"That's it!" Sora whispered to himself.

"Cool! What's that!?" Luffy asked in excitement.

"What's going on?!" Nami's alarmed voice let them know the light's intensity had woken up the rest of the crew. Luffy leaped out of his seat and jumped down the mast; Sora following close behind.

"So bright!" Brook's high pitched exclamation came from the men's quarters, as he was exiting. "I feel my eyes melting! Oh, but I have no eyes to be melt… Yohohoho!"

"Kyaaaaaah! That's the door to heaven! Are we dead!?" Usopp yelled in total panic.

"Whaaaat!? Nooo! I don't wanna be dead!" cried Chopper.

"Maybe a sea monster swallowed the whole ship while we were sleeping." Robin commented morbidly. "Though, if that was the case, we would have felt our bodies been slowly digested."

"Robin! Please don't say that!" Nami was about to cry.

"As long as I can still be by both your side, my beautiful ladies, I don't care if that thing leads to hell," Sanji commented next with hearts in his eyes.

"If that's hell, it has come only for you, curly brows," Zoro commented with disinterest.

"What was tha-?"

"Both of you shut up!" Nami yelled throwing a punch to both their heads. "This is not the time!"

"You don't need to panic," Riku said as he stepped up near the railing; his eyes fixed on the familiar shape. "It's just the world's door."

"The world's?" Luffy asked tilting his head with arms crossed.

Sora nodded. "This is our way back home," he informed them, walking next to his best friend.

"How is that contraption going to send you home?" asked Franky curiously.

Sora and Riku shared a knowing look and extended their right arm in front of them. As expected, their keyblades appeared in their hands in answer to the summon call. With a swift motion, they pointed the blades towards the keyhole, and a thin beam of light shot from them towards their target, getting a clicking sound as a reaction.

The pirate crew was shocked into silence at the lightshow; all except the three youngest members.

"So cool!" they yelled in unison with stars for eyes.

"That was a beam, wasn't it! A beam!" Luffy yelled.

Sora lowered his weapon and turn around to face the crew. "Thanks for letting us stay. It's been really fun."

Seeing their confuse faces, Riku explained. "It seems it's time for us to go."

"What? Are you leaving now?" Chopper asked suddenly dishearten.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll meet again," Sora reassured him. "And… as long as we remember each other…"

He didn't finish the sentence, but looked at Luffy to see him nod with conviction while hitting his chest with his fist. Sora nodded back with a smile.

Without warning, both teens jumped off the railing, hovering in the air for a few seconds to look at the crew one last time.

"See ya!" Sora waved.

"Bye bye!"

"See you soon!"

"Have a nice trip!"

"Be careful not to get trapped in a dark-hole on your way home."

"Robin!"

"Such a heartwarming goodbye… whuaa…"

"Yohohoho! You're right, Franky-san. Though, I have no heart to warm…"

With a final laugh, Sora followed Riku towards the bright light, disappearing within it. They were ready to finally get back home…

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Cheesy ending is cheesy. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! See you next time! :)


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